Exit route to be 300 metres longer at Lalbaugcha Raja

Two years after they implemented the idea of touch and go -- wherein devotees could take darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja and exit the pandal and reach Chivda Galli -- promising that it would decongest the serpentine queue, the management has now come up with a new plan.

For better management: The entry and exit point at MHADA grounds for those visiting bappa in the mannat queue. Pics/Datta Kumbhar

Stating that the number of devotees was increasing in leaps and bounds with each passing year, the management has bifurcated the existing exit route into two.

This year, devotees who have come only for mukhdarshan and those who have come to thank bappa as their navas or mannats were fulfilled would be heading for separate exit points.

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While the former would be allowed to exit the pandal towards Chivda Galli, the latter would have to take a U-turn and walk back 300 metres they covered for getting close to bappa.

Explaining the need for the decision, Ashok Pawar, president of the Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal, said, “We planned it to ensure smooth and continuous flow of the crowd so that there are no complaints from the devotees. Once this begins, the mannat queue will not be stopped, except during aarti time.

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This will also help the devotees, who come for mukhdarshan, to exit the pandal without any difficulty, as the Chivda Galli will not be crowded. This will happen because after taking a U-turn the mannat queue will exit at the MHADA ground, the same place they had entered from.”

A member of the mandal said, “This has been done to ensure that security of the VVIPs and VIPs who visit the pandal during Ganeshotsav isn’t compromised. The U-turn will prevent congestion inside the pandal whenever celebrities or VIPs come for darshan.”